Joel Salatin Keynote Speaker

Joel Salatin is a full-time farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and an inspirational speaker on sustainability and food policy. A wordsmith, he describes his occupation as “mob-stocking hervbivorous solar conversion lignified carbon sequestration fertilization.” His humorous and conviction-based speeches are akin to theatrical performances, often receiving standing ovations.

A third generation alternative farmer, he returned to the farm full-time in 1982 and continued refining and adding to his parents’ ideas. The farm services more than 5,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits, pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing and online nationwide shipping.

The family’s farm, Polyface Inc. (“The Farm of Many Faces”) has been featured in Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, Gourmet and countless other radio, television and print media. Profiled on the Lives of the 21st Century series with Peter Jennings on ABC World News, his after-broadcast chat room fielded more hits than any other segment to date. It achieved iconic status as the grass farm featured in the New York Times best-seller Omnivore’s Dilemma by food writer guru Michael Pollan and the popular documentary Food Inc.

The author of 21 books, Joel is editor of the world’s premier pastured livestock journal, The Stockman Grass Farmer and writes a weekly essay for the digital magazine, Manward.  His blog is “Musings from the Lunatic Farmer.”